Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk vs. Charles Lee Martin

Jesus... did you realize that Martin was the IBF mandatory and theoretically could end up being his first ordered title defense? I just learned this while glancing at the current IBF rankings (identical to what they were in September, excepting that everyone has moved up exactly one space, with former champ Joshua falling to #4, and Martin having previously been 2nd with the #1 spot ahead of him vacant) researching an entirely separate but no less ridiculous issue. Oh, serendipitous joy...

Apparently nobody else has connected the dots on that, as I can't find any discussion of a potential match-up between them on Twitter or any forums...but there is one thread on Reddit. A sampling of the comments:

"teslacallsforever:
We made jokes about it ending up wilder vs usyk for the double upset.
Nobody has ever made a joke about charles Martin beating usyk.
A timeline is opening up where a tiny possibility exists that Charles martin becomes unified lineal champion.
This is hillarious.

Jacidstorm:
I hope he's the first undisputed since Lennox

Alarming_Glove_509:
it is a real possibility but reading it almost makes me laugh a little"

Like, yes, okay guys, it all is very funny - but also, don't you want to cry a little? Imagine, after proving all the doubters wrong and making good on his plan to move up from cruiser and dethrone a HW champ, and doing so in fairly dominant fashion, all of Usyk's bold steps forward in credibility are compounded by a large stride in reverse with a defense that is sure to be universally derided and the butt of many a joke?

All too real a possibility if Fury decides to pick up his ball and go home instead of charging the breach towards Undisputed status. This scenario would also require the WBA to defer to the IBF ordering a mando first (the WBO probably has the best man of the bunch in terms of quality, with Joyce >> Martin or Bryan/Charr/Dubois, but they are still more or less the redheaded stepchild and don't have the stroke to be pitching their weight around like that).

They have, as you may know, one common opponent. Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua knocked out Martin in 2 rounds to claim the IBF belt in 2016...and made six defenses before dropping it to and regaining it from Andy Ruiz, ultimately yielding it to Usyk on the losing end of a UD in his second reign's second defense one month ago today.

Martin has 2" of both height and reach on the champ. Usyk hasn't fought a fellow southpaw yet at heavyweight, and none whatsoever since Thabiso Mchunu half a decade heretofore.

 

Not 'news'. It isn't happening.

But it could..